Talented, Indeed
by HeartofSword26
Summary: There has always been the 5 Kages, and they are the ultimate commanders of the ninja. But there has always been one Hunter—the one who commands the Kages. Now, his talents are the most needed... KakaIru
1. Shuriken 0: The History of Hunter

Author: Heart of Sword

E-mail: heartofsword@boardermail.com

Title: Talented, Indeed

Fandom: Naruto

Rating: PG-13

Warning(s): Eventual KakaIru, blood, swearing, a hysterical Kakashi in later chapters.

Summery: There has always been the 5 Kages, and they are the ultimate commanders of the ninja. But there has always been one Hunter—the one who commands the Kages. Now, his talents are the most needed....

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

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Shuriken 0: The History of the Hunter

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_An excerpt from the Book of Shadows-- _

After the ninja villages had been established, the 5 Kages wondered how to assail their evil foe, Shigeto.

Shigeto has been the shinobis' greatest enemy, for he has long been a master of the secret arts, and is much feared. He is egomaniacal to the worst extreme, and is very insane. 

There was a prophecy however, one that works in the shinobis' favor. In this prophecy, it is believed that a Hunter shall finally defeat him. 

And so the Kages trained their ninjas as hunters as the prophecy said they should, for the prophecy had never been wrong, and they were determined to defeat the hated fiend. 

It came to pass that three years to the day that the villages had been built, that the Kages deemed themselves ready. They had many hunters, trained by the Kages themselves. How could they not lose?

But the prophecy ordained that there could only be one Hunter to face the cruel Shigeto, and that the hunters that the Kages amassed did not have the fatal Hunter. 

However, the prophecy continued, they did have the Hunter that would temporarily defeat Shigeto. This Hunter was the one that would give Destiny time to summon the soul of the True Hunter, as well as his companions, like the Scarred Wolf, and the Demon With Two Lives, and the Cursed Protector, and the Empress Of Time.

The Kages consulted with each other, and they admitted that the ones of Destiny were not born, and that all they could do was select the First Hunter. So, they held a tournament, and in all the confusion they did not notice that a boy of no more then twelve had enlisted.

This boy had soft blonde hair, along with brown eyes, and a scar on his cheek.

It came to pass in that tournament that the boy won all of his battles, whether they were against those weaker then he or against those stronger then he, for he was the one Destined to fight Shigeto, and give the Destiny the chance it needed. 

For along with that Destiny came awareness, and it had a counterpart, one that wished to plunge the Universe in Darkness. 

The boy served the Destiny Of Light, and it ensured his victory. 

Finally the boy felled his last adversary, and he stepped before the wise Kages, and awaited their judgment.

The Kages were unsure of what to do. The Light Destiny had assured them that the First Hunter would win this tournament, but a child?

They deliberated until finally, Kazekage stepped forth, and said, "Why do we waste time? The Hunter has been brought to us. Let him go to Shigeto, and may he defeat him!"

The Kages saw the wisdom of this and they agreed.

The boy belonged to the Fire Country, and so it was Hokage that told him of his Destiny. The boy's face was grave as he listened, and he said, "Fear not Lord Hokage; I shall not let your faith go to waste."

Then he smiled at the Hokage and the Hokage gave him his blessing.

The child traveled far from the village, to the Land of Waves, and it was there that he and Shigeto were Destined to battle.

When he first saw him, Shigeto laughed. This warrior that had so haunted his dreams was only twelve! Much too weak to be a threat to the great Shigeto!

But he then perceived the power infused in the child, and once again he was afraid. For the Hunter had haunted his dreams, and had held Shigeto long in terror. 

And so it came to pass, that the child and Shigeto fought. There shall only be one other such battle, and that is between the Shigeto and Final Hunter. But this battle was the one that mattered, and so it was that their chakras waxed and waned, and their jutsus clashed. 

Finally, they came to the end of the battle. It was a blow of pure panic from the boy that won it all, for no matter how powerful he was he was still a little a boy, and therefore unprepared for Death. 

It was simply a punch, one that landed in Shigeto's stomach. The renegade felt it but barely. After all, this was an obviously desperate blow. Why should it work?

But it distracted Shigeto, and the little boy that was twelve years old, took advantage of that moment's hesitation—and drove his kunai into Shigeto's eye. 

Shigeto was beaten.

The renegade shinobi howled an unearthly howl of pain and fury. And the little boy extracted his shinobi blade, and the eye of Shigeto came with it. He left Shigeto writhing on the floor. All of the boy's tasks were finished but one and that was to train his successor. 

He came back to the Village Hidden In The Mist, for that is were the tournament is held, and he gave the eye and kunai to the Hokage saying, "It is done."

And so it was.

The boy knew though, that his Destiny was not complete. There was still the matter of his successor, for the Hunters must never die out.

And so, acting on instructions given to him by the Destiny Of Light, he informed the Kages of the laws that bound them concerning the succession of the Hunters.

And the Kages agreed to these laws, and only they know them. Each Kage must know them as well as the current Hunter. But only they may know these, and to record them in all but memory is forbidden under pain of death.

It came to pass the Hunter married and had a son. And he looked at him and he knew that the child would be his successor. But he also knew that this would be the only time that another Hunter would be born of his line. And he warned the Kages that his death would soon come, and that the Kages must band together, and train his son, the same way they had trained his comrades, and indeed that his comrades must help in his son's training as well, so that he could become more powerful and skilled then his father. 

The Second Hunter still had many harsh tasks before him.

And it came to pass that a missing nin, killed Shishio Tokamoru, the First Hunter.   

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Umino Iruka set the book down, and frowned. That was not what he had wanted to read.  


	2. Shuriken 1: A New Mission

YAY!!!! REVIEWS!!!!!!!

Thank you sooooooo, much **Kakashi Uzumaki** and **hattuteline**!!!

**_blue_****_ hedgehog_****:** **Reeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaallllllll****, funny. Yes, friend of mine, you're reeeeaaaaallllly supportive.**

**Look, if you have a problem with slash then don't read the rest of the story, because it's going to be really laid on thick. **

**There's going to be lots of kissing and sappiness, so I suggest you clear out while you can. **

**_Real_**** funny.**

** _Chris Norton_: Thanks!!! Also, "Umino" is the family name for Iruka-sensei,so he isn't Naruto's kid!!!!**

The support from y'all means so much!!!!

bows

Disclaimer: Me, no own Naruto. Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto, not HeartofSword26.

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Shuriken 1: A New Mission

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Kakashi was fighting.

There was a strange graceful savagery to his movements, as if primordial human and ninja had been combined inside of him. Which it had. That was how the ANBU survived.

He slammed his sword into the stomach of a doppelganger, ignoring its scream of pain as he twisted. The doppelganger disappeared in a puff smoke, and he twirled to face the other one.

Another attack!

He swirled, lopping off the doppelganger's head, as well as slicing another in half. There were more puffs of smoke as the doppelgangers evaporated.

"Ungh!"

Yet another doppelganger had scored him on the side, and crimson blood now dripped from the wound. Snarling like an animal, Kakashi brought his sword down on the copy's shoulder, cutting it from shoulder to hip.

On a human it would have been a near fatal injury. Kakashi would know he'd had the type several times. The last, however….

"Don't you think that's enough?"

Kakashi spun about to face—Iruka.

The former ANBU officer relaxed. Iruka wasn't any particular danger, and he knew that the chuunin wouldn't suddenly attack him.

"What do you mean?"

Iruka reached out and caught two fingers around a lock of Kakashi's silver hair.

"This," he replied showing the 26-year old the sweat that had come off.

Kakashi shrugged and adopted his "Ignore me, I'm too lazy," stance, and walked out of the clearing (he'd been practicing in the forest).

Iruka followed his face troubled.

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Kakashi slammed the door of his apartment with an angry crash.

How dare she?! How dare she put him up with that…that _chuunin_?!

Did Tsunade _want_ to make his life miserable? Of course she did.

He gritted his teeth.

Tsunade apparently felt that a trip to the other continent was in order; and, not only did she feel it was a specific continent, but a specific _city_.

The last time he'd been to Cormlay City, he'd barely gotten out by the skin of his teeth.

Cormlay City was a city on the Eastern Continent, and was the unofficial capital for all manners of prostitutes, hookers, and whores (Kakashi was actually on very friendly terms with them).

Whores really weren't that bad; they were very polite actually, and they made excellent spies. Now that he thought about it, he'd gotten a report from Fa-weer, the madam of the top brothel a few weeks ago.

But brothels weren't the only buildings that he'd gotten into.

Cormlay City wasn't just _a_ city. It was the capital of the kingdom of Camion, and the king was very much a problem. Not only was he a lecher, but he seemed completely convinced that he was destined to conquer the West continent. Naturally, this was a problem.

Kakashi's job had been to go to Cormlay and seduce the king into revealing as much information as possible. It was a good thing that the king liked men just as much as the ladies, because if he hadn't then Kakashi would have to use jutsus to transform into a woman, and…. Well, he'd done it before, and it hadn't been enjoyable. How women functioned with extra body parts and those strange chemicals in their bloodstreams were beyond him.

Nothing improper had happened of course, (the king would be dead if anything had) but Kakashi was still very angry about the desperate passes that the fool had taken at him. But slamming him up against the temple walls and threatening to pull his guts by hand had been very satisfying and had had the double affect of scaring him out of his wits so badly that he hadn't mounted an invasion in years.

The move had been a bit unorthodox, yes, but that idiot grabbing his ass had been the last straw.

But going to the Cormlay wasn't the worst of it. It was the company that bothered him actually.

His kids were coming along: Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura.

In Kakashi's opinion, this wasn't necessary. They were only 12 after all, and Cormlay wasn't a good place to go to, even during the best of times. He didn't want to expose them to that type of atmosphere, Sakura especially. Who knew, though? It might be good for them.

But there was going to be another ninja joining their party, and the choice was not one that Kakashi preferred.

Umino Iruka was coming with them, and Kakashi didn't like it. Iruka was talented, yes, but that didn't change the fact that he was a chuunin. The streets of the capital were filled with thieves and cutthroats, and Iruka….

Nothing in worrying about it now. What was done was done, and Kakashi couldn't sway the will of Hokage the 5th, no matter how much he wished he could.

A twinge in the jounin's stomach reminded him of his hastily bandaged injury. Dammit, he should have asked Tsunade to heal it or something. Too late now.

Swearing softly, the jounin replaced the bandage. Then he glared at the darkening sky, and tried to figure out why Tsunade wanted Iruka to go with them.

Tried.


	3. Shuriken 2: Talkin' With Hokage

**_Kakashi Uzumaki_****: Awww, you're so sweet! And don't worry about you're English, I have Spanish friends, so I understand. **

**I'm glad that you love David Eddings to. ^_^ Kheldar _is_ good, isn't he? **

**Unfortunately, I can't reveal the identity of Hunter to you just yet.**

**Hunter would skin me alive.... *weep* **

**_Deadguy23_****: KILL BLUE HEDGHOG!!!!!!!!! Please, please, _please_, kill him. **

**_kiasca_****: Thanks!!!! I'm glad you like it!!! I'll keep it up, promise! **

**_Raikage Yondamie_****: Screw you, twin brother of mine.**

**_shadow named chaos_****: I'm not letting anybody dictate what I write if that's what you mean—with the exception of my twin brother, who is my Naruto muse, and whom I love to death. **

**_nubiko takamori_****: What I have to say to you should take place in private. I KNOW WHO YOU ARE, LITTLE SISTER.**

**_Reius Devirix_****: Intriguing?! WOW!!!! ^_^**

Now onto the fic!!

Kakashi: Don't forget the disclaimer.

Could _you _do it for me? Please?

Kakashi: *tch* Fine. *Holds up a sign that says "HeartofSword26 does not own Naruto."* Happy now?

Yes! ^_^ *hugs Kakashi*

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Shuriken 2: Talkin' With Hokage

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"HI TSUNADE!!!!!!"

Tsunade fell out of her chair cursing. "Dammit Hunter!"

Hunter giggled crazily for a moment, and then looked sheepish.

"Sorry," Hunter said. "Naruto must be rubbing off on me."

"That's not very surprising," Tsunade remarked. "At least not with the amount of time you've spent stalking him."

"Not my fault, you _told _me to keep an eye in him."

"It's not like you have to obey my orders."

Hunter's feminine eye lashes were fluttered in her direction. That was all the answer she needed. She snorted and set her chair aright.

"I don't appreciate what you were doing by the way," she said. "And don't go all innocent on me, you _let_ me sense you."

Hunter let out an unrepentant grin. "I've always wanted to do it!"

Tsunade shook her head. How Hunter had gotten the courage—and audacity—to hang outside her window on a wire and listen to her conversation with Kakashi was beyond her.

Hunter stretched out on the windowsill and yawned. "Anyway Tsunade, what do you need me for?"

"Who said I needed you for anything?"

"Come on Tsunade, if Umino Iruka is going with them, then you'll want _me _to tail them."

"What if they don't want you tailing them?"

"Tough nuggets. Besides, they're completely convinced that I'm a legend that's used in stories to lull kids to sleep."

"Don't you like kids?" Tsunade asked impishly.

"Love 'em. But that's not the point."

"What _is _the point Hunter?"

Hunter grimaced. 

"I don't know. I just don't like being put on the spot like this."

"Tough nuggets."

Hunter glared, and Tsunade laughed. 

"I enjoy, 'putting you one the spot' Hunter; it keeps you young."

"This from The Old Hag. Yes, Tsunade, I can see that...NOT."

"Has anyone ever told you how profoundly childish you can be?"

"Several times."

"Well, I hope you don't like being reminded."

A tongue was stuck out in her, and she told the ninja not to stick his tongue out at people; a bird could land on it after all.

Hunter told her to do something she knew would never be said in front of children, and she told the shinobi so, too. Hunter responded by threatening to use the SharinganEyes to see through her clothes. She told Hunter to go to hell, Hunter told her to stick it where the sun doesn't shine, and then the friends looked at each other, and laughed. 

*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&*&

Feel...so...tired....


	4. Shuriken 3: Jiraiya’s Imposter! IrukaSen...

**_SilverKnight7: _****Yay!!! Someone likes my story!!!!**

**_kali_****: I know what you mean about KakaIru. It was the first slash pairing I ever read in the Naruto fandom, so I'm very attached to it. Kakashi and Iruka are adorable together aren't they?**

**I'm glad you think my story is well worked; there are more twists and turns coming up........ *cackles***

**And I don't think you need to worry about me changing the slash pairing; there _will _be more, however. Pairings up the wazoo....... *grin***

**Keep writing?! Be happy?! You betcha, babe! One of the things that keeps up my spirits and gives me inspiration is getting reviews!!!**

****

**_Kakashi Uzumaki_****: Funny?! Me?! Really?! Yay!!!!!!!!!!**

**I always try to update as much as I can...... *sob sob***

**And it's not that I don't _want_ to write slash, it's just I'm building up to it. I _need_ to do that, since it's rather crucial to the plot.**   

**_Raikage Yondamie_****: Who said I mislead you?**

**_Deadguy23_****: Don't you worry; Naruto and Hinata _will_ be together. *starry-eyed***   

**You're welcome for being mean to Raikage; it's always fun. It's my duty as his baby sister to annoy him (even if he's older than me by a few minutes......)**

Kakaaaaashiiiiiii.......

Kakashi: Oh, god, not again.

Will you? Please? Please? Pleeeeaaaaase????

Kakashi: HeartofSword26 does not own Naruto. That is all. Read the fic. And please, god, review, she cries when people don't review.......

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Shuriken 3: Jiraiya's Imposter! Iruka-Sensei is Late!

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"Tsunade."

Tsunade fell out of her chair.

"I'm popular today," she grumbled as she righted herself. "What do you want?"                                                                      

Jiraiya leaned in the doorway and stared at her. "Who is Hunter," he asked.

"A legend used to lull little kids -- and not so little kids -- to sleep."

"Legends can talk?"

"Aren't you and I proof of that?"

Jiraiya ignored that. "Tell me who Hunter is, Tsunade."

Tsunade immediately realized that Jiraiya knew Hunter existed; either he had heard at the door, or he had felt Hunter's chakra.

However he knew Tsunade didn't care; all she cared about was the realization that this was _not_ Jiraiya.

"I don't see why I should tell you," she said coolly. "It's not like it's any of your business."

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This was bound to be interesting.

Kakashi lay heavily on a tree branch, arms and legs dangling lazily over the sides as he watched Naruto pace on the bridge.

Kakashi, of course, had been late.

But Iruka was even more so.

Naruto was fretting out loud as he paced. "What if Iruka-sensei fell into a trap? What is he's sick?" Naruto's eyes widened. "What if he's _dead?_!" the boy turned to look up at Kakashi, his face as white as the albino's own. "Kakashi-sensei, we have to find Iruka-sensei—" 

"Who is touched by your concern."

Naruto whirled to face -- Iruka (who was looking much disheveled, with his hair falling out of his hair tie).

"Where have you been?!"

Iruka's eyes were suddenly bright with mirth.

"Well, there was this old lady in the park—" 

"Liar!"

"You've heard that one?"

"Iruka-senseiiiiiii!"

Iruka laughed and hugged the boy.

"What _were_ you doing?" Kakashi asked from his perch.

"The great Kakashi-sensei?" Iruka said in mock amazement. "Actually taking an interest?" Then he winced. "I'm sorry. It's been five hours since my first cup of coffee...."

"Five hours?"

"Yes. And then my class tried to revolt around 8:00 AM."

"But Iruka-sensei," Naruto protested. "You were supposed to meet us here an hour before that!"

"I had come up to tie up a few loose ends when they came in and took me by surprise." Iruka rolled his eyes. "Konohamaru tried to start a riot by pulling down his pants and mooning the class, and it took me and three other teachers four hours to restore order. I just got back from that."

Naruto and Kakashi blinked.

"But never mind me. Where are Sakura and Sasuke?"

"Oh, Naruto and I left them alone at the..." Kakashi trailed off and his eye widened. Swearing like a pirate, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

There was silence for a moment on the bridge. Then Iruka and Naruto burst out laughing.

It subsided after a while, and Iruka tousled Naruto's hair.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go to my place. I think we _both_ have things to pick up." 

"Ramen!"

Iruka chuckled. He'd missed Naruto terribly, and it was always a treat to be with the blonde.

"Yes, we'll have lots pf ramen."

As they walked in the direction of Iruka's apartment, Iruka asked, "So how are things going with you and Hinata?"

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With a puff of smoke the shinobi's disguise disappeared.

It was no longer Jiraiya dead on the floor, but a Sound ninja.

Feeling sick, Tsunade stared at the frozen, grimacing face. Then she turned to Anko.

"Any word?"

Anko shook her head. "No. The guards didn't see or sense anything. If Hunter did, then he's keeping his mouth shut." She scowled. "I wish he wasn't so close mouthed."

"Hunter is bound by rules we can't even guess at Anko." Tsunade smiled ruefully. "I have to admit though; I wish he shared more too."

Anko nodded glumly. "Tsunade, this guy was able to get past the ANBU patrols. That means Orochimaru was controlling him for at least part of the way."

"Yes," Tsunade murmured. "He seems to be stepping up the game."

She bowed her head in thought, working out a plan.

Then, raising it, said, "Take your team and trail Team 7 and Iruka. Hunter will be doing the same, so let him know you're there. He'll probably control Iruka to talk to you; Iruka won't know he's doing it, so it'll be O.K."

Anko bolted.

Tsunade immediately called for a group of Examiners. She wanted to know everything there was to know about this body.

The fate of the village could very well depend on it.    


	5. Shuriken 4: Goddesses and Equipment! Get...

**_kiasca_****: Ah..... Now that would be telling, wouldn't it? I'm glad you liked the chapter. grin******

**_Raikage Yondamie_****: What did I do now?**

**_TheTrueSilver_****: Well, here it is!**

**_Riyo-sama_****: Connection?! What connection?!**

**Ahahahahahaha....**

**Naw, I'm just pulling your leg. At last, someone who realizes that there's a connection. You'll see the connection soon enough, I think.**

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I was looking over the previous chapters of "Talented," and I realized something.

My writing sucks.

So, as of today, July 23, 2004, there's going to be a new style of writing taking over. Major style change, and lots of plot changes that I'm not gonna discuss with my brother. Deal with it Raikage.

So. There you go. And now, on with the fic!

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Shuriken 4: Goddesses and Equipment! Get Over Yourself Kakashi!

(&)(&)(&)(&)

Kakashi was not a happy jounin.

Sakura and Sasuke had proved to be something of a problem when he had gotten back (details aren't necessary, are they?), and trying to get them into their combat boots had proved to be an almost futile gesture.

Sasuke for whatever reason had refused to put them on. Sakura, of course, had followed his lead, and wouldn't put them on until Kakashi threatened to make them over caltrops for the rest of the journey. Barefoot.

Sakura became extremely cooperative at that point.

Sasuke did not.

Surly Sasuke plus Unhappy Kakashi equals Really, Really, Pissed-Off Kakashi.

And Really, Really, Pissed-Off Kakashi didn't need Surly Sasuke.

So, Really, Really, Pissed-Off Kakashi proceeded to hang Surly Sasuke upside down until Surly Sasuke decided to cooperate.

Or rather, until Kakashi had had enough of tormenting him, and cut him down, not bothering to catch him.

Incidentally, Sasuke landed on Kakashi's caltrops. Hard.

Kakashi didn't even bother to wait for the dark-haired boy to recover. He just threw the boy's combat boots at him, explained them yet again, ("The terrain over there is the worst imaginable. You want to get your foot amputated?") and then proceeded to disappear into the forest to cool off.

"Interesting display of temper. Did it make you feel better?"

Kakashi didn't need to turn around to know who was talking to him. "Shove off Masashi."

"Is that any way to talk to your Goddess, High Priest?"

"I never agreed to be your Priest."

"You're being terribly stubborn about that Kakashi. I could really impress my family if you were my High Priest."

"So now I'm just some party trick?"

There was a soft rustle and suddenly his Goddess was sitting in front of him in midair, looking stern. "What's wrong with you Kakashi? You don't usually act so childish."

"I don't know," he replied waspishly. "Will you leave me alone?"

Masashi's eyes narrowed. And everything...stopped.

Kakashi swore.

"There's nothing you can do about this Kakashi, so stop wasting time using colorful metaphors."

"'Colorful metaphors?' Now I've heard everything."

"Whatever is the matter with you Kakashi?"

"Unless you hadn't noticed, humans generally don't like being treated like pets."

"You were being surly before I ever mentioned you being High Priest."

"Which I don't want to do by the way."

Masashi growled before smacking Kakashi on the bridge of the nose with her first two fingers. Kakashi yelped and rubbed at it, glaring at her. "Remember that conversation we had before I left?"

Kakashi grunted.

"I'll take that as a no. Well, I was telling you about how at first the Universe had a single Purpose. There was an accident, and then the Purpose was divided into a Dark and a Light Purpose. The Purposes require us to do certain things whether we want to do the or not."

"You're not serious!"

"Oh, but I am."

Kakashi whimpered.

"Get over it Kakashi. You _will_ be my High Priest!"****

"Don't you know the meaning of mercy," the albino asked bitterly.

"Not really, no. And you of all people shouldn't be asking for mercy."

"Can you blame me for trying?"

"Yes. And I _will_ too!" Kakashi groaned. Masashi ignored him. "Sooooo, what's wrong?"

"Sasuke. He's being such an _idiot_, and there's just so much potential-"

"Ow."

"Yeah."

Feeling dejected, Kakashi sat down beside the teenaged immortal. Masashi fell down beside him with a soft _thump_. She patted him on the shoulder. "There, there Kakashi. Sasuke will get over it."

"That's what I thought. I have yet to see results."

"Nothing worthwhile comes easily."

"Nng." Then -- "Unfreeze time, if it's not too much trouble. I have a mission to get to."

"Of course."


	6. Shuriken 5: Heading Out at Last! Sound n

**_The Fox of burden_****: Why is you annoyed!**

**_sniffles _Oh well... And don't worries, all will be explained...**

**_Riyo-sama_****: Ow.**

**_Wolfgirl13_****: Do ya... REALLY MEAN THAT!**

**Yay! _shoves bags of cookies to you._ Man, I really hope I don't disappoint you!**

**_Raikage Yondamie_****: _sticks out tongue_**

**- - - - - - - - - - - **

**Shuriken 5: Heading Out at Last! Sound nins attack!**

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** Story Start!**

**- - - - - - - - - - - **

What the hell were Sound nins doing here? Hunter frowned behind his porcelain mask.

There were eight of them - jounins and their teams.

"Ishikawa! Let's get a move on!" one called.

"I don't like this," Ishikawa muttered to the speaker. "We shouldn't even be here!"

"You heard the Master. Just this one training exercise and we're home free."

_Training exercise? _Hunter thought scornfully._ Please. They should know better than that. What are you doing, Orochimaru? Weakened or not, you know better than to lose ninjas to the Leaf -- especially now that they kill first and ask questions never. And if those two are jounins, then they have information in their bodies that Tsunade would love to get her hands on._

As Hunter, the shinobi had no affiliation to any village. He went were he was needed, and fixed things. He was forbidden to directly interfere unless it was necessary, and for that it had to be something pretty extreme.

The position of Hunter was more philosophical in nature than aggressive. It wasn't uncommon for centuries to pass by with nothing to do except study the Prophecies.

For a legendary immortal, those were the worst times: just puttering about the world inventing techniques.

It sucked so much it wasn't even funny.

But now that Orochimaru had made his move...

It wasn't that Hunter had wanted the Leaf attacked; he loved the Leaf, just like he loved all the other villages. But if he had had to go through one more century of nothing but seals and scrolls, he'd lose what little there was left of his sanity. Which there hadn't been much of in the first place.

Hunter knew he wasn't "sane" in the way other people thought of the word. In fact, if he let his true nature show through, he'd probably be put in an asylum pretty quick. He could always break out of course, but it wasn't really worth the effort. Besides, Hikari would get mad.

Hikari was the Light Awareness - and Hunter had given him the name.

_One of the best perks of this job,_ he thought, _is that I can annoy him all I want._

There was a low growl from a small corner. "_I'm sure you're having fun Hunter, but please, do us all a favor, and get a move on."_

_"Okay, okay. Geez Hikari, you're in a foul mood today."_

_"I don't wanna talk about it."_

_"Oh? What happened?"_

_"I _said_ I don't wanna _talk_ about it!" _

_"Oh, al_right_..."_

Hunter stifled a giggle.

**

* * *

**

Hunter attacked the Sound as they began to near the village.

The fight was short and ugly, and the outcome was predictable. Hunter only felt sorrow as he killed the Genin. They were all so young, with hopes and dreams that had been crushed when his slender chain cut into their necks and lopped off their heads.

Shaking his head, Hunter sent up a flare for ANBU. They would come and pick up the bodies; in the meantime he had a team and its surrogate Medic ninja to follow.

Strange how Godaime was only just now putting the Chuunin's healing bloodline limit to good use.

* * *

They were a day out of Konoha when they were attacked. Six Sound-nins came out from all sides when it happened, slamming Naruto and Sakura out of the trees.

The two fell heavily to the ground. Ears ringing Naruto struggled to get up, only to be knocked back to the ground. The blonde stayed still, playing dead as best he could. His mind reeled, but he made it still. Now was not the time to think. He rolled to his feet as quickly as he could and then ducked. The whistles of the kunai overhead let him know how close he was brushing death.

Naruto promptly disappeared in a puff of smoke; he arrived high in a tree, much higher then a Sound-nin would go. He hoped.

"Naruto, stay there!" Naruto immediately recognized the voice of Kakashi-sensei, and he resolved to follow his orders to the letter. It was made a bit difficult however, when Iruka-sensei slammed a heavily maimed shinobi against the tree trunk. The tree shook violently from the impact, and Naruto almost fell.

Wearing a disgusted expression, Iruka-sensei withdrew his kunai from the shinobi's neck, and the corpse slumped lifelessly to the ground. Naruto swallowed. He'd seen dead people before, but not actual killing. It distinctly unnerved him.

**

* * *

**

"Did you have to kill him?" Kakashi asked sourly.

"I didn't have much of a choice."

Kakashi sighed. Then he turned to look at the remaining bleeding/bruised Sound ninjas. "Any suggestions about what we should do with these?"

"Why not just drag them back to the village?" Sakura asked. "It wouldn't take that long, would it?"

Kakashi and Iruka exchanged looks. They hadn't had much time to brief the children, and they couldn't very well do it here...

"Let's leave them and send up a flare," Iruka said. "ANBU will pick them up in an hour or two."

The three Sounds looked distinctly uncomfortable at that.

**

* * *

**

"Anou sa, anou sa, Iruka-sensei," Naruto chirped. Now that the danger had passed, he was back to normal. "Why didn't we take those ninjas back to the village?"

"This is a B-rank mission, Naruto. We can't go back just because of a scuffle." Suddenly Iruka's expression became slightly impish. "Of course, that's not the real reason you want to go back is it?" He continued over Naruto's splutters. "This is serious, Naruto. Your personal life aside, this mission could become an A-rank at anytime."

Naruto had regained control over his mouth. "What _are_ we doing, Iruka-sensei?"

"We're going to the Western Continent."

"Magakichi!"

"Yes."

"Isn't that were the crazy king lives?"

"He's not crazy Naruto. He has...issues."

"It's the same thing isn't it?" Naruto sounded skeptical.

Iruka sighed. "Naruto, you're talking about a distant relative of mine. Please show more respect."

"Distant relative! You two are _related_!"

"Only very distantly. I'd prefer it if you didn't noise it around."

Naruto snapped his mouth closed. Then he said, "Why are we going to Magakichi Iruka-sensei? There isn't anything over there for us, is there?"

"That king you were making fun of just now-" ("Hmph!" Naruto said) "-has always wanted to take over our continent, Katotashira. The only thing keeping him in check has been both the presence of the shinobi and the amount of demons running around." Naruto made a face at that. "But he seems to be getting a lot of courage lately. He's been mobilizing his troops, and promising people that if they join the military they'll become wealthy."

"And we're supposed to find out why he suddenly has such a stiff spine?"

"Exactly."

"How is that B-rank?"

Iruka silently sighed at Naruto's incomprehension. "If the one sitting on the throne decides to invade us, things will get sticky for a long while. Orochimaru wouldn't hesitate to take advantage of our distraction, and we'd be fighting a war on two fronts."

Naruto shuddered at the mere thought. Iruka gave him an encouraging smile. "If we do our job right then it hopefully won't come to that."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

_

* * *

_

Ahhh... Finally, a new chapter! I'm sorry about the insanely long delay, but it was unavoidable. Also, with the onset of the years, I have been constantly been interrupted by a phenomenon known as "Real Life," and "School."

Shocking, isn't it?

So, these, coupled with other things, has severely restricted the time I have on FF(dot.)net.

And I wish they would allow URLs.

Heh heh, hope you guys enjoyed the story.


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